Meet Sydney Johnson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sydney Johnson.

Hi Sydney, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
In 2000, I moved to Nashville when I was eight years old. My father was an NFL coach here in town, so I grew up attending Titans games and events my whole childhood. For some reason, I didn’t have an interest at the time in pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. I went to college at the University of Tennessee and graduated with a Psychology degree in 2014.

After college, I debated moving to New York City but decided to come back to Nashville. I began working in the corporate world as a marketing and operations professional. After years of building my career as a marketer, the world came to a halt in 2020. I was extremely fortunate to keep my job, but clearly, there was a lot of change happening in the world at that time. I had gone through some heartbreak; between that and the stressors of coping with pandemic times, my mental health had taken a turn for the worse. I sought help to cope with my anxiety and started feeling more like myself towards the summer of 2020.

I happened to have dinner with a friend last summer to catch up on life and she had mentioned that Matt James had just been announced as the newest bachelor, its first black lead. I had never watched the show before, but she wanted to nominate me. At the time, I figured “why not” as I didn’t think there was any way I had a chance. There was a record amount of submissions for his season.

Fast forward months later, I had been cast for the show and was headed off for filming. It was an extremely unique experience and I’m glad I put myself out of my comfort zone and went. After getting back, I started receiving requests to do some modeling shoots around town. Honestly, I have been told most of my life to pursue modeling, but I never had. Now seemed like the perfect time to go for it. I signed with The Block Agency here in Nashville and had been booking shoots ever since!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve been fortunate so far with modeling as my side hustle. I still work at my corporate job full-time while booking shoots on the side. Doing both obviously comes with its difficulties juggling two jobs, but I’m fortunate enough to work for a company with flexibility so it mainly boils down to time management.

It was definitely a bit of a learning curve at the beginning as I felt like I was burning the candle from both ends, but I’m blessed to have the opportunities.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
In my corporate role, I specialize in digital marketing which includes blog writing, advertising campaigns, and editorial content.

With modeling, I have worked with various local brands for fashion, lifestyle, and sports content. I’m looking to continue partnering with the amazing Nashville brands and also work with some more national campaigns.

I would say I’m most proud of myself for going on The Bachelor. It takes a lot for contestants to put themselves out there for the entire world to judge. The experience teaches you a lot about yourself though, and I will be forever glad for the lessons I learned while there.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Professionally, I’m constantly reading articles on the frequent changes in the world of digital marketing. LinkedIn Learning is also a great resource for this.

Personally, I’m big on doing what I can to enhance your mental health. It varies from person to person, so it’s really a matter of finding what works for you. For some, it’s therapy. For others, it’s finding a medication that works for you, or exercising regularly, or listening to empowering podcasts (or potentially a combination of all the above). I recently did a podcast with I Understand Love Heals, a mental health podcast dedicated to eliminating the stigma around mental health. It could be worth a listen!

https://soundcloud.com/behind_the_smile/013-behind-the-smile-sydney-johnson

Contact Info:

• Email: sydneyj.bookings@gmail.com
• Website: https://theblockagency.com/women/sydney-johnson/
• Instagram: @sydney_alexa
• Other: https://abc.com/shows/the-bachelor/cast/season-25-2021-sydney

Image Credits
John Sherlock (Exposure Studios), Lara Howl (Howl Photography), Shannon LeBlanc (Lifestyle be LeBlanc), and Steven Visneau (Steven Visneau Photography)